Sandwiches and similar food items are usually created for customer orders while the customers wait for their meal, often standing in line at the time. For sanitary reasons, these meals are usually delivered in closable film bags. These bags must be maintained in an orderly and sanitary dispensing facility for the food service institution to function safely and efficiently. The present invention addresses the handling of such closable bags in the tight quarters often associated with such establishments. Similar bags are also used by the customer for self-packing bulk items such as candy, cookies and pet food.
It has been found that stacking the bags allows for easy dispensing while helping to keep the bags clean. Toward this end, the present invention provides for sealed dispensing containers with a tear-away panel providing an opening through which the bags are dispensed. In an alternative embodiment the panel has been torn away and the opening is covered with plastic. In still another embodiment, the plastic covering may be removed in stages to keep the remaining bags fresh and clean. The bags could also be stacked in a vertical configuration in a box sized and shaped accordingly. The bags could also be stacked in a sleeve instead of a box. In order to maintain the dispensing container in user convenient locations, various types of rack mountings have been developed for the bag dispenser container that will effectively grip the dispensing container and position it conveniently at a convenient height while being securely mounted to a floor, counter wall or other convenient surface. An adjustable angle support version of the dispenser is also provided. The invention also contemplates permanently installed or built-in rack style dispensers.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0279037, published for Thomas et al., discloses systems of reclosable storage bag refills for a dispensing container. The types of bags involved include those in which the bag closure comprises two elements mechanically engaging one another to form the closure element. These are commonly referred to as zippered plastic bags with one trade name being that of Johnson & Son, Inc. Ziplock® bags. These bags are commonly dispensed from a box such which provides an opening at the top and side of the box so that the bags may be dispensed one at a time from a stack. This reference provides an example of a particular box which has been designed to receive a variety of sizes of the zippered plastic bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,476, issued to Herrington, Jr., is directed to a plastic bag dispenser providing a box like container with rupturable lines extending along a top and an adjacent solid edge which when ruptured provides an opening in the dispenser of the corner of the top and adjacent side to facilitate removal of folded bags. The bags are folded in thirds along parallel fold lines and individually inserted into the box to facilitate the dispensing of one bag at a time while leaving the remaining bags in the stack untouched. When the individual bags are forward the bags may be removed one at a time from the “dispenser” box.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,800, issued to Nocek, illustrates to a dispenser for plastic bags wherein the container or box is perforated so as to have an opening at the top and adjacent side for removal of one bag at a time. The bags are stacked within a container and each lead bag has a trailing end connected by a line of weakened resistance to the leading end of the trailing bag so that when the first bag in removed only a slight force against the edges of the containing box causes the bags to separate and individual bags to be dispensed.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/00883677, published for Tan, is directed to a bag dispenser rack that incorporates mounting spikes and pivotally mounted support surface to keep the bags in order, while providing for dispensing of individual bags from a pack with the following bag brought conveniently into open configuration for use thereafter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,570, issued to DeMatteis, illustrates a dispenser of plastic bags which provides for the removal of one bag from the stack within the container while the remaining bags are left untouched within the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,657, issued to Geyer, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,909, issued to Bateman, disclose bag dispensers and show methods by which stacked bags are contained within a container yet with a provision for resistance so that one bag may be removed without disturbing the remaining bags in the stack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,944, issued to Sherr, is directed to dispensers for plastic bags and specifically for plastic bags of the reclosable type. Each of these dispensers have an opening at the bottom of the plastic outer container wherein a single plastic bag may be grasped and removed from the enclosed stack so that every single reclosable plastic bag may be dispensed one at a time without disturbing the remaining bags.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a bag dispensing system that provides deli slider and similar bags that are dispensed from a system that occupies a minimum of floor space in a retail store. It is a further objective to provide a system that does not require roll mounted bags. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a dispensing system adaptable to a variety of different mountings. It is yet a further objective to provide such a system that provides a visual indication of the need to refill the dispenser. It is still a further objective to provide a dispenser that can accommodate multiple bag sizes. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a bag dispensing system that is durable, inexpensive, easy to keep clean and simple to use.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.